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Verizon-Fleetmatics Deal Makes Telematics Giant

Verizon will control about 25% of the telematics market following its planned acquisitions of Fleetmatics and Telogis in moves that indicate steady growth ahead for fleet telematics use, a market expert said.

The deals will bring about 1.4 million units in service under Verizon's telematics unit and create a telematics provider with the potential to dominate the market, said Clem Driscoll, who produces an annual market study. The units would be shifted to operate on Verizon's cellular network.

"Fleetmatics is the largest fleet tracking company in the world, and this is the largest acquisition in the history of this industry," said Driscoll, who's been watching the industry for two decades. "It's the largest in terms of money and subscribers."

The combined companies operating under Verizon Telematics would control telematics units in a quarter of U.S. fleet vehicles with telematics.

Verizon should be able to complete its acquisitions, even in a challenging regulatory environment. Anti-trust concerns should be allayed because there are still a large number of telematics vendors in the U.S., Driscoll said.

After the dust settles, Geotab, GPS Insight, and NexTraq will be Verizon's largest competitors. In addition to software, Geotab offers its GO7 OBDII dongle. Omnitracs and PeopleNet would continue to be the primary telematics providers to over-the-road trucking fleets.

If Verizon successfully closes the acquisitions of Telogis and Fleetmatics, it will need to decide whether to consolidate the software-as-a-service platforms of these two companies with its Verizon Networkfleet. All three companies provide hardware from third-party vendors and would likely continue to do so, Driscoll said.